Ausenco is mobilising a 50-strong multidisciplinary team in January to implement the Jervois nickel and cobalt refinery project in São Paulo, focusing on civil engineering consulting, electromechanical assembly, and project controls. Specialists in health and safety, quality, and project management will support both site works and office-based design and coordination. For engineers, the move signals upcoming demand for detailed brownfield integration, constructability reviews, and upgraded process infrastructure at an existing hydrometallurgical facility.

Derrick Corporation has opened its Derrick Experience Center (DEX Center) in January 2026 to mark its 75th anniversary, creating a dedicated test hub for advanced fine screening technology. The “first-of-its-kind” facility is designed for current and prospective customers to run full-scale trials on Derrick high-frequency screens and Polyweb® urethane panels under controlled conditions, rather than relying solely on on-site pilots. The centre is intended to shorten test campaigns, de-risk screen selection, and optimise cut size and throughput for fine coal, iron ore, base metals and industrial minerals circuits.

A $3.6 million Arbor-funded University of Arizona Tailings Center project, led by mining engineer Dr Isabel Barton, is evaluating whether 17.5 billion tons of historic copper tailings in Arizona—growing by ~100 million tonnes per year—can be reprocessed to recover critical minerals and reduce environmental risk. The team is combining statewide and UAV-based remote sensing, industry tailings datasets, drilling and surface sampling, mineralogical characterisation and techno-economic analysis using magnetic separation and basic leaching. Early work has identified unexpected mineral occurrences, including arsenic, zinc and possibly tungsten, which could justify flowsheet changes to keep these elements out of future tailings.